Russian military satellite closes to about 3 miles of US radar craft ICEYE-X36

Russia's Cosmos 2612 satellite cut its distance to the US-owned ICEYE-X36 radar satellite from over 200 miles to roughly 3 miles, Axios reports. LeoLabs called the unapproved rendezvous a deliberate approach, raising concerns of spying and provocation in low Earth orbit.

• Distance shrank from over 200 miles to about 3 miles
• ICEYE-X36 is a SAR satellite in a ~545 km sun-synchronous orbit, launched March 2024
• Maneuvers ran from Sept 30 to Oct 16 and consumed scarce fuel
• Analysts advise watching Cosmos 2611 and 2613 near ICEYE-X37